In the field of cabinetry and mill work, a recurring problem is the uncontrolled speed at which a cabinet door closes. The typical hinged connection includes a hinge cup mounted to a furniture piece and pivotally connected to a hinge arm mounted to another furniture piece. A metal coil spring biases the metal hinge cup toward the metal hinge arm. One result of the coil springs can be uncontrolled and undesired rapid closure of cabinetry doors which results in noise and impact wear of cabinet hinges and cabinet faces. Furthermore, the sliding movement of the coil spring on the metal hinge arm during operation results in unwanted noise and a “grinding” perception by a user which is undesirable.
Prior art compact hinges have attempted solutions to these problems, but have done so unsatisfactorily. The prior art suffers from various disadvantages including limited adjustability, size, complexity, durability, and high manufacturing cost.
For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0315832 to Wu discloses a soft-closing hinge for use in furniture comprising a movable hinge cup coupled to a door panel and a securing member coupled to a wall panel. A hinge arm pivotally attaches the movable hinge cup to the securing member while a spring exerts an opening or closing force to the movable hinge cup. A damper disposed on the movable hinge cup, acts on the hinge arm to soft close the hinge. A cross section of at least one end of the spring is of a non-circular shape and provided with a plastic sliding member. The sliding member acts on the hinge arm when the hinge is opened and/or closed to generate an opening force or a closing force. The securing member is not adjustable in more than two directions without removing mounting hardware.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0240543 to NG discloses a hinge comprising a movable cup seat mounted to a furniture door body and a regulating base affixed to the main body of furniture. A rotary arm having an arc-shaped surface pivotally attaches the movable cup seat to the regulating base. The rotary arm is connected to the regulating base via a regulating screw and an eccentric regulating rivet. A torsion spring generates a start-stop acting force on the movable cup seat. A sleeve part is fitted to a first supporting leg of the torsion spring and slidably engages the arc-shaped surface. The regulating base is not adjustable in three directions without removing mounting hardware.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,163,447 to Liang, et al. discloses a hinge comprising a hinge cup, a hinge arm, a spring, and an adjustable damping device. The hinge cup is pivotally connected to the hinge arm and is mounted to the door of a cabinet. The hinge arm is mounted to the fixed portion of the cabinet. The spring and the damping device are mounted in the hinge cup. When the hinge cup is closed with respect to the hinge arm, the hinge cup is subjected to a dampened closing force via the damping device. A cover insulates the spring from the hinge arm. The hinge arm is not adjustable in more than two directions without removing mounting hardware.
Therefore, a need exists for a silent, soft-close hinge capable of providing positional adjustments in three dimensions even after mounting to cabinetry.